Axalta completes Shanghai plant waterborne expansion

Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, has completed the expansion of its waterborne coatings plant in Jiading, Shanghai, China. The expanded site is designed to meet the growing demand for sustainable coating solutions for automotive, commercial vehicle and industrial markets in China and the Asia Pacific region.

The expansion includes new added waterborne basecoat, primer and small batch capacity, featuring the most advanced product and production technology available. The new production facilities, in addition to two new warehouses, will more than double the Jiading waterborne plant’s production capacity. The state-of-art facility optimises productivity through advanced automation, maximises the use of raw materials and accelerates manufacturing cycle time, while minimising the environmental impact of the production process.

"The Jiading expansion further strengthens Axalta’s position as a leader in eco-responsible coatings and supports our long-term growth strategy. Our investment in waterborne coatings embodies the principles of sustainable manufacturing while ensuring we continue to meet our productivity and profitability goals," said Barry Snyder, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations and Supply Chain Officer. "Axalta will continue to make investments in China that expand our footprint and capabilities in order to meet the growing needs of our customers."

Market and customer demand for waterborne coatings is growing at the expense of less environmentally friendly products. Axalta is the global leader in waterborne coatings technology and harmonised coating systems that achieve superior appearance while meeting the sustainability goals of lowering energy consumption, reducing carbon dioxide and VOC emissions. The Company’s waterborne coatings significantly improve productivity and energy savings while reducing the environmental footprint of the painting process for OEM customers in the automotive, commercial vehicle, e-mobility and industrial materials markets.

"The automotive market in China continues to be the largest in the world and a growth engine for global mobility. Its industry is also at the forefront of sustainable manufacturing in terms of VOC emissions," said Nicolas Franc de Ferrière, Vice President, Mobility, Asia Pacific. "Our Jiading plant expansion reflects our ambition to capture the growing demand for high-quality, eco-friendly coatings and continue to support our customers to reach new quality and environmental standards."

Axalta is an established leader in waterborne paint solutions for the mobility sector and was among the first suppliers to introduce waterborne automotive coatings to China in the late 1980s. Axalta opened its Shanghai Jiading waterborne plant in March 2015. This most recent expansion is now fully operational and is producing and delivering products to major leading automotive OEMs and industrial materials customers in China.